Biography

Ida Schuster (28 September 1918 – 9 April 2020) was a Scottish theatre, radio and television actress, theatre director, and a leading figure in Glasgow's 20th-century Jewish theatre community. One of nine children, her parents were Jewish immigrants who moved from Vilnius to Glasgow at the end of the 19th century.

Ida attended Abbotsford Primary School in the Gorbals.

Ida's older sister, Ray, married Avrom Greenbaum, who founded the Glasgow Jewish Institute Players, and her brother, Leon Schuster, was production manager for GJIP, and, later, when it merged with other groups, Glasgow Unity Theatre.

Ida began acting at the age of 15, and was a prominent member of both theatre troupes. Glasgow Unity Theatre, was, she said: “...a particular response to a particular time. These were heady days and after the war we really felt utopia had arrived.” She turned professional in the 1950s.

In 1973, she described her feelings about the artist within the community: Well...the bridge games, the social activities for charities which form so much of the pattern, must be partly rejected if one is to survive with any creative energy. And as one grows older, responsibilities increase and energy decreases. This happens to all of us and youth takes over. Make no mistake, our young folk will be holding the reins with great expertise, well equipped for the battles which lie ahead.